Battle of Adwa
| Battle of Adwa | |||||||||
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| Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War | |||||||||
 Ethiopian forces, assisted by St George (top), win the battle. Painted 1965-75. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Ethiopian EmpireArmed and Supported by:  Russian Empire French Republic
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.svg){kind=small} Kingdom of Italy
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Menelik II Ras Alula Taytu Betul Tekle Haymanot Ras Makonnen Ras Mikael Ras Mengesha Fit'awrari Gebeyehu † |
Vittorio Dabormida † Giuseppe Arimondi † Matteo Albertone (POW) Giuseppe Ellena |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 80,000 armed with rifles 20,000 armed with spears and swords 8,600 horses 42 (Russian) artillery pieces |
17,700 (^ Italians and Ascari) 56 artillery pieces (rifles and artillery - all antiquated) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 3,867 killed ~8,000 wounded |
6,394 killed 1,428 wounded ~3,000 captured (^ including wounded) |
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The Battle of Adwa (Amharic:አድዋ; Amharic translated: Adowa, or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) was fought on 2 March 1896/Yekatit 23, 1889 according to Ethiopian calendar between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray. This climactic battle of the First major Italo-Ethiopian War, was a decisive defeat for Italy and secured Ethiopian sovereignty.
As the 20th century approached, Africa had been carved up among the European powers at the Berlin Conference. The two independent exceptions were the Republic of Liberia on the west coast and Ethiopia, or then still commonly known as Abyssinia, in the eastern Horn of Africa region. The newly unified Kingdom of Italy was a relative newcomer to the imperialist scramble for Africa. Italy had two recently obtained African territories: Eritrea and Italian Somalia. Both were near Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa and both were impoverished. Italy sought to improve its position in Africa by conquering Ethiopia and joining it with its two territories. Menelik II was the Ethiopian leader who pitted Italy against its European rivals while stockpiling weapons to defend Ethiopia against the Italians.
In 1889, the Italians signed the Treaty of Wuchale with then NegusMenelik of Shewa. The treaty ceded territories previously part of Ethiopia, namely the provinces of Bogos, Hamasien, Akkele Guzay, Serae, and parts of Tigray. In return, Italy promised Menelik the second's rule, financial assistance and military supplies. A dispute later arose over the interpretation of the two versions of the document. The Italian-language version of the disputed Article 17 of the treaty stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities. This would in effect make Ethiopia a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Amharic version of the article however stated that the Emperor could use the good offices of the Kingdom of Italy in his relations with foreign nations if he wished. However, the Italian diplomats claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and that Menelik II knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty.
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